EF3 Tornado — Lewis, New York

2023-08-07 · near West Leyden, Lewis, New York

Event narrative

The National Weather Service in Buffalo completed a storm survey in Lewis County for damage that is confirmed to be tornadic from Monday evening. Initial damage from the tornado occurred in the Town of Lewis to the west of West Leyden along Mud Lake Road that included uprooted and snapped hardwood trees, significant damage to two homes that included roof uplift and near total removal, a wall blowout of a garage, and the complete destruction and shift from the foundation of a barn. Damage in the initial portion of the track generally peaked at EF-2. The tornado then continued northward and crossed Fish Creek Road with damage to another home that removed the roof and caused significant damage in the walls of the second level of the home. It also did significant damage to a second barn and snapped many hardwood trees.

After moving north of Fish Creek Road, the tornado crossed a large swamp with evidence of full defoliation of a few hardwood trees in the swamp. Tornadic damage become less continuous north of this point without good road access to the track through swampy land. Convergent track damage again resumed well southwest of the Town of Turin, hitting the town water tower. The tornado then continued northward as it paralleled West Road. Continuous uprooting, snapping, and occasional defoliation of hard and softwood trees was evident for a long portion of the track until it reached Snow Ridge Ski Resort. Upon reaching Snow Ridge Ski Resort, tree damage increased to snapping of hardwood trees at the rootline and some defoliation. On the ski resort land, all of the chair lift metal cables failed, some chair lift structures were overturned or damaged, and the track of damage greatly widened as the storm continued north-

northeastward. The greatest damage along the entire track of the tornado was from Snow Ridge Ski Resort to the West Wind Motel in Turin. Several structures saw completed roof failures, interior wall failures, window failures, and a one multi-story building was shifted from its foundation with its entire roof removed. The tornado lifted after affecting the West Wind Motel with damage ceasing from this point as it crossed State Route 26.

Wider weather episode

A weak surface low tracked across western NY to the northeast of Lake Ontario from the afternoon to the late evening hours. Building instability and increased wind shear ahead of the low supported clusters of severe thunderstorms beginning late in the afternoon across the northern Finger Lakes. Additional northward moving severe storms that exhibited low-level rotation formed early in the evening in a narrow corridor from central New York to areas east of Lake Ontario. In addition to wind damage and large hail, two tornadoes occurred over northeast portions of Oswego County and southern portions of Lewis County during the evening. Eventually, storm surveys confirmed that one of these tornadoes near West Leyden New York to Turin New York tracked 16 miles with observed damage indicating peak winds up to of 140 mph or EF-3 strength. After the tornadic storms diminished, additional storms with very heavy rain tracked over portions of Oswego and Lewis counties from late evening into the overnight hours. These storms which trained over similar areas produced 3 to 4 inches of rain with multiple roads flooded and a few roads entirely washed out.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.4600, -75.5100)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1125496. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.